[cathrin]

Hi,
I've recently been going through the painstaking operation of transferring all my CDs into iTunes in Apple Lossless format. Having done about 25GB's worth and put them onto my ipod, (Classic 80GB), I just noticed the Sound Check option within the iTunes menu, with the normalizing function. Aaaargh! Why didn't I spot that before I started?

So, I'm now wondering: If I tick the boxes for "sound check" and "enhance quality" in iTunes before the next time I update my library onto the iPod, will it do it retrospectively to the tracks that are already there, or do I have to start again from scratch to get the normalised versions onto the iPod?

I'm also wondering, is there a *downside* to normalising at all? Any danger of tracks distorting or sounding clipped?

Final question: what exactly does the sound enhancer do? How obvious is the difference?

Huge thanks if anyone can advise.

Cheers
Cath

[rob1973]

I think it doesn't matter and you can retospectively apply it..personally I don't like it but without it obviously your sound levels are up and down. The enhancer does work, it's hard to describe what it does so I'll say it sweetens the top end by giving it a tickle! Have a play and listen.

[cathrin]

Quote:

Originally Posted by rob1973

I think it doesn't matter and you can retospectively apply it..personally I don't like it but without it obviously your sound levels are up and down. The enhancer does work, it's hard to describe what it does so I'll say it sweetens the top end by giving it a tickle! Have a play and listen.

Thanks. The enhancer sounds promising, I might try that....I'm still in two minds about the sound check. I'm always a bit dubious about the idea of normalizing...it kind of feels like something must be sacrificed to get the levels matching. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so I'm intrigued to know what it is you don't like about the normalizing function.....is there anything specific you can hear that seems wrong with the results, or is it just an overall feeling? Thanks again for replying, I appreciate it.

[JohnD2000]

Quote:

Originally Posted by cathrin

Thanks. The enhancer sounds promising, I might try that....I'm still in two minds about the sound check. I'm always a bit dubious about the idea of normalizing...it kind of feels like something must be sacrificed to get the levels matching. You sound like you know what you're talking about, so I'm intrigued to know what it is you don't like about the normalizing function.....is there anything specific you can hear that seems wrong with the results, or is it just an overall feeling? Thanks again for replying, I appreciate it.

True normalisation doesn't affect the dynamics of the source material. The process looks for the loudest part, then turns the whole track up to the point where the loudest part is just below the point of clipping.

The iTunes function that levels the percieved volume across multiple tracks on playback sounds more like compression to me. It ruins the dynamics.

[Pingu]

The Sound Check feature in iTunes, when turned on for the first time, will scan all the songs in your library and add metadata information relating to sound volume. It's completely non-destructive, and you can easily turn it off again.